Five Reach Double-Digit Scoring As @RazorbackWBB Wins 74-53

BY ANDRES FOCIL

FAYETTEVILLE — Jhasmin Bowen tallied 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season, as the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team (10-0) picked up a 74-53 win over Northwestern State (4-3) inside Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday night. All five Razorback starters reached double-digit scoring for the first time on the season, as Jessica Jackson scored 16 points, Keira Peak and Calli Berna reached 11 points, while McKenzie Adams aped 10 points to join Bowen in double figures. “All in all it was a good win,” head coach Tom Collen said. “I think when you get to the point where you’re 10-0, you win by 21 points and you shoot 46 percent you’ve got to be careful not to get too confident. It’s not the best game we’ve played, but I’m pretty happy with it.” Bowen reached double figures for the fifth straight game with 75 percent shooting, continuing what has been an offensive emergence for the junior forward as of late. “She tries to answer the call,” Collen said of Bowen. “She wants to play well and she wants to play well for Arkansas. I can just sense that in her. She was a player that I think came out in the second half and did a great job of imposing her physical will and rebounding.” Both teams came out with slow offensive starts, as the Razorbacks shot 38 percent (3-8 FG) and the Lady Demons just 18 percent (2-11 FG) over the first five minutes of play. Arkansas took an 8-5 lead, with half of the early points coming from a nice four-point play by Adams who converted a three-point basket plus a foul. A 7-2 run late midway through the first half helped the Razorbacks extend its lead to 24-17 at the 7:58 mark. Bowen led all scorers with six points on perfect shooting, while Peak came on strong with five points of her own and two rebounds. Arkansas held a 12-to-6 advantage for points in the paint. The Razorbacks sharpened their shooting over the course of the first half, up to 48 percent from the field and holding a 32-22 lead at the 3:14 mark of the half. Bowen and Jackson combined for 15 of the team’s 32 points. Berna had three points and five rebounds. The Razorbacks closed the first half with on a 13-5 run to take a 37-25 lead, as Jackson led all scorers with nine points and two rebounds at the break. Berna finished with six points (2-2 3PT), five rebounds and three assists, while Bowen had eight points and three rebounds. With the Razorbacks held scoreless for three minutes after coming out of the locker room, the Lady Demons out together a 6-2 run and cut the lead back to single digits at 39-31. AU also committed its eighth turnover of the game over the stretch, which NSU converted into nine points off of mistakes. Berna helped push the Razorback lead back to double digits, as the junior hit a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down and sparked an ensuing 11-2 run for UA to take a 54-36 lead with 10 minutes left to play. As the run extended to 20-6 over 5:49, UA saw its lead swell to 63-40. Berna finished with 11 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals to orchestrate a 43.8 percent second-half shooting performance by the Razorbacks. Arkansas resumes a five-game homestand next week by welcoming Tulsa (3-2) to Bud Walton Arena on Dec. 10. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Bud Walton Arena. For more information on Arkansas women’s basketball, follow @RazorbackWBB on Twitter.